office: the floor is IN!

I'm feeling frickin AWESOME right now!! My adrenaline is pumping, and I even did a little happy dance when no one was looking! Why? Because I finished installing the floor in the office!!! The only thing left to do {besides filling it with furniture and accessories} is to install the molding that covers the gaps between the floor and the wall.

But even without the molding, it's already looking GREAT!!!  {in my completely unbiased opinion...of course}






Here's what was left of the flooring {not including all the scrap pieces}, and all the tools I used during the installation


We used 2 boxes of spacers, and the best thing about these is that they're reusable, so I'm sure I'll use them in all the other rooms we install flooring.


If you're installing flooring, you MUST have the following tools:
A hammer {I didn't take a picture of mine}
A Pull Bar for the pieces that butt up against the wall...


And a Tapping Block for every other piece!



What did I learn about installing laminate flooring?
1. We totally need to get a table saw!  We SUCK at cutting long straight lines, or notches with a hand saw!!!
2. Laying the floor goes REALLY fast when you only have to make cuts with a miter saw.
3. Cutting off the grove on the part of the plank that touches the wall when you start a new row helps to make a smaller gap, and makes it look more uniform.
4. Don't disregard broken or chipped pieces, the bad parts can be cut off and used against a wall.
5. Cutting laminate planks creates green {or possibly another color depending on your brand} dust that gets EVERYWHERE!  {so you should make your cuts in a ventilated and easy to vacuum area}

Now that the floor is installed, we're one step closer to finishing this room, and starting the next one!  I feel FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC!!!!

XOXO,
Marcia